With just one week left before Christmas, why not have a little fun at your shop! The holidays are a great time to show employee appreciation and remind your employees (and customers) why your shop is a great place to work (and get their car repaired!) We’ve gathered some great ways to bring in the holiday and spread a little Christmas cheer. Here at Autoshop Solutions, we value having a great company culture so below are some of our tips to ending your year on Santa’s “nice” list.

1. Decorate!

Put up a tree, a wreath, and a few decorations. It doesn’t have to be much, but a few holiday decorations creates an even more inviting waiting area for your customers or workspace for your technicians.

2. Have a holiday potluck!

Pick a day to have a holiday potluck during the lunch hour. Have everyone bring in a dish to share, enjoy a short break, and enjoy each other’s company.

3. Have an “Ugly Christmas Sweater” day!

Include your customers in the fun by having them vote on which they like best throughout the day and rewarding the winner with a gift card!

4. Coordinate a White Elephant Gift Exchange

Our team does this every year and we have so much fun opening and stealing gifts! It’s a non-traditional and fun way to exchange gifts. Each employee brings a small gift – under $10 – and we walk away with anything from lottery tickets, to board games, to miniature drones. For official rules, visit www.whiteelephantrules.com.

5. Donate to charity

The options are endless to give to charity at Christmas-time. You can give your time, money, or gently-used items to a local charity of your choice. Consider sponsoring a family through an angel tree or organizing a drive for your local homeless shelter.

All of the above can be done with very little planning. The cost is minimal, but the impact will be huge!